Nokia’s Lumia 920 coming exclusively to AT&T in November

But don't lose hope: a versioning loophole may get Verizon its own model.

The Lumia 920 ties the knot with AT&T, but its evil CDMA twin may crop up on other carriers.

AT&T will carry both of Nokia's upcoming Windows Phone 8 devices, the company announced in a press release Thursday. The higher-end device of the two, the Lumia 920, appears to be exclusive to the carrier.

Microsoft and Nokia jointly announced the Lumia 820 and 920 at a press event in New York in September, but failed to commit to either a price point or release date. Judging by this release, all parties involved will continue to trickle actual information out as slowly as possible—AT&T is a committed carrier and states that both phones will be "made available" in November, again without attached price points.

The AT&T release states that the Lumia 920 is "exclusive to [AT&T] customers," which suggests that the Lumia 820 will appear on other carriers. This meshes with plausible rumors that a Verizon-compatible version of the Lumia 820, called the Lumia 822, will be available later this year. AT&T's announcement doesn't completely rule out the possibility of seeing a similarly renamed Lumia 920 variant on other carriers, but we wouldn't hold our breath.

By contrast, the other high-profile pair of Windows Phone 8 devices from HTC, the 8X and 8S, have already been announced for AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, and are confirmed for launch in November.

As I'm not on a family plan it is still cheaper in the long run for me to buy the phone unlocked and use it on T-Mobile's monthly 4G ($60/mo) than it would be to buy the subsidized phone and stay on AT&T's plan ($110/mo). I am un-phased by this news.

For the folks considering an unlocked 920 (me as well), the iPhone 5 points to a possible issue (since Apple had to go from 1 iPhone 4S model for the world to 3 models of the 5 to cover the LTE spectrum of everyone).

The issue being that an unlocked international (or even AT&T) 920 may or may not give you LTE coverage on T-Mobile or Verizon depending on its capabilities (something we didn't have to worry about besides the normal CDMA, GSM issues).

It'll definitely pay to wait and see the details on things before jumping for an unlocked international version in the U.S.

Serious bummer Verizon didn't go for the 920....the irony in all this is that the HTC 8X will probably easily outsell the 920 in the U.S., just because its available at all the major carriers.

Hard to believe this - Nokia's website says the 820 is AT&T exclusive as well (if true Nokia is screwed in the U.S. for trying to get serious numbers of WP 8 handsets sold):

For the folks considering an unlocked 920 (me as well), the iPhone 5 points to a possible issue (since Apple had to go from 1 iPhone 4S model for the world to 3 models of the 5 to cover the LTE spectrum of everyone).

The issue being that an unlocked international (or even AT&T) 920 may or may not give you LTE coverage on T-Mobile or Verizon depending on its capabilities (something we didn't have to worry about besides the normal CDMA, GSM issues).

I don't think it's an issue for the Lumia 920 as it comes with pentaband LTE (800/900/1800/2100/2600). Also, there's only one model of the Lumia 920. However, I don't think it supports CDMA (though the Qualcomm chip is capable of it) so Verizon/Sprint won't be compatible anyway.

"Serious bummer Verizon didn't go for the 920....the irony in all this is that the HTC 8X will probably easily outsell the 920 in the U.S., just because its available at all the major carriers. "

Not all major carriers...I'm on Sprint and would love to upgrade my HTC Windows Phone 7.5. But I'm sure it will show up eventually. I do think that Noika doing an exclusive deal with carriers does limit the number of sales. There was mass hysteria over the iPhone, so that strategy worked initially. I don't see that with Windows Phone, no matter how much I like it. And, the market has changed with the iPhone now on all major carriers, including Sprint.

Why sign exclusive deals at all? Maybe I just dont get it because I live in a country where almost no Phones are sold with carrier branding but it just sounds like a bad move from someone who wants to sell as much phones as possible.

"Serious bummer Verizon didn't go for the 920....the irony in all this is that the HTC 8X will probably easily outsell the 920 in the U.S., just because its available at all the major carriers. "

Not all major carriers...I'm on Sprint and would love to upgrade my HTC Windows Phone 7.5. But I'm sure it will show up eventually. I do think that Noika doing an exclusive deal with carriers does limit the number of sales. There was mass hysteria over the iPhone, so that strategy worked initially. I don't see that with Windows Phone, no matter how much I like it. And, the market has changed with the iPhone now on all major carriers, including Sprint.

The iPhone is not on all major carriers either, you know. T-Mo still doesn't have it.

I'm genuinely excited about the Lumia 920, with designs on getting it as soon as my contract allows. But I'm not jumping to AT&T to make that happen. That's a lost sale for Nokia. Actually, multiple lost sales since I would have pulled more in through my family plan.

Nokia:

Bring the 920 to Verizon, please. No, I don't want the lesser 820 at all. Don't even bother pointing to that as an option.

Exclusivity to AT&T is unwise. More than half of your potential customers are being ignored. I'm guessing the quick drop in your stock this morning is directly related to this exclusive deal. Foolish.

I wouldn't discount the level of exclusivity that this announcement presents because it's all over Nokia's website, including updated images of the phones (920 and 820 alike) with AT&T branding on the phone.

Welp, I'll never own a WP device now. I hate AT&T, I've waited far too long to hear this news, and I'm not giving AT&T anything but the finger. Shame Microsoft and Nokia have their heads so far up their asses. I'm looking to move away from the iPhone, I'm NOT having anything to do with AT&T, and announcing something I can't buy, I don't know when I can buy it, and how much it is going to cost me doesn't make me interested as a customer. Then telling me I can only buy it from one carrier? Fuck off. Why are these companies so goddamn stupid with that stuff? Microsoft will die in the mobile market again, and it'll be no one's fault but their own.

Welp, I'll never own a WP device now. I hate AT&T, I've waited far too long to hear this news, and I'm not giving AT&T anything but the finger. Shame Microsoft and Nokia have their heads so far up their asses. I'm looking to move away from the iPhone, I'm NOT having anything to do with AT&T, and announcing something I can't buy, I don't know when I can buy it, and how much it is going to cost me doesn't make me interested as a customer. Then telling me I can only buy it from one carrier? Fuck off. Why are these companies so goddamn stupid with that stuff? Microsoft will die in the mobile market again, and it'll be no one's fault but their own.

HTC WP devices confirmed for multiple carriers, and it sounds like a different Nokia is planned for Verizon.

HTC WP devices confirmed for multiple carriers, and it sounds like a different Nokia is planned for Verizon.

Too little, too late. I wanted the 920. Having this kind of stupidity happen on your flagship phone that runs the very first version of your new OS is a pretty shitty way to get it to market. Doesn't fill a new customer with a lot of confidence when you can't even get the goddamn launch done correctly. I didn't want to be forced into buying it from one carrier, that I loathe, and it STILL has no price or concrete release date even then. It's like Nokia and Microsoft want to fail miserably. I'd buy 4 phones right now (whole family) if they'd just fucking sell them to me on the carrier I use. But they won't, and there is literally no reason why they can't other than they are literally stupid people making stupid decisions.

It always cracks me up when people hate a particular carrier even though they're all terrible. It's all about personal experience and just what terrible things you can live with. I've had AT&T for more than 10 years and, even though they piss me off occassionally, they haven't been any worse than T-Mobile has been to my wife or Verizon to my parents. I'm sure if I switched, I would have a pretty similar experience with anyone. If the coverage doesn't work in your area, that's about the only complaint I can understand.

I'm looking to move away from the iPhone, I'm NOT having anything to do with AT&T, and announcing something I can't buy, I don't know when I can buy it, and how much it is going to cost me doesn't make me interested as a customer. Then telling me I can only buy it from one carrier? Fuck off.

If you weren't interested as a customer, what are you so upset about? Go buy something you're interested in then.

It always cracks me up when people hate a particular carrier even though they're all terrible. It's all about personal experience and just what terrible things you can live with. I've had AT&T for more than 10 years and, even though they piss me off occassionally, they haven't been any worse than T-Mobile has been to my wife or Verizon to my parents. I'm sure if I switched, I would have a pretty similar experience with anyone. If the coverage doesn't work in your area, that's about the only complaint I can understand.

They all suck, but it's well known fact that AT&T sucks the most. They have shit coverage, they bold face lie to their customers about pricing/plan policies, they insulted all of them with the "Seth the blogger guy" bullshit, they willingly and without shame fork over whatever the fuck the NSA wants (or other entities that want telephone records), they have continually gouged people for service that should be getting better and not worse, and then they STILL blame the customer (you use too much data) for why service is still shit nationwide after the billions they make go in the pockets of politicians rather than into equipment to make their service better. I've literally never seen a carrier have such shit coverage nationwide. Literally every time I've left a large city in about 15 state in the US, coverage simply doesn't work, or it doesn't exist. AT&T has no excuse for their piss poor performance other than greed and stupidity. At least Verizon has a network that fucking works. They do shady and mean shit too, but at least I'm getting service that I pay monthly for.

I'm looking to move away from the iPhone, I'm NOT having anything to do with AT&T, and announcing something I can't buy, I don't know when I can buy it, and how much it is going to cost me doesn't make me interested as a customer. Then telling me I can only buy it from one carrier? Fuck off.

If you weren't interested as a customer, what are you so upset about? Go buy something you're interested in then.

Because I was really hoping that this wouldn't be an exclusive phone, I was ready to plunk down the cash the second it was announced. But yet again, Microsoft and their partners wait 1-3 months before they can actually deliver on anything they present to potential customers. It's like they want to be irrelevant.

I guess saying I'm looking to move away from the iPhone means that I'm not a potential customer? News to me. I thought looking to leave one company for something different meant I was a potential customer to everyone, and that makes me interested in alternatives. I could have sworn I said I was waiting to hear this news as well, I must be going crazy because I thought I said exactly everything contradictory to the way you interpreted it. Thanks for the reply though, however pointless it was.

Wow. So many folks asking "Why?" here. If there where fewer I would think, that you are covert MS/Nokia employees

1) Lumias get too many "crap" rates from owners. There where too many faults in hardware. And too many missing features (No full bluetooth? Seriously?)2) There where too many returns of Lumias for sales channels to like that phone and brand. (Up to famous covert visits to carrier shops by jurnalists who where pointed to other handsets even though they asked specifically and by name for Lumias!)3) Bad carrier relations. Really bad. Most coming from low sales, but also failure of biggest advertisings in industry, Osbournging current WinP7 Lumias by MS. (Osbourn was CEO who told publically that his company products are poor. MS did it to WinP7 when announced no meaningful upgrade path for WinP7 handsets!). Desktop OS tactics and rules imposed by MS. Wrong focus on the wrong markets.

Any one seen Steve Balmer famous vid of jumping on the stage shouting "Developers, developers, developers"?Every CEO of smarthpone producing company do that exercise every day before going to sleep, but whit words "Carrier relations, carrier relations, carrier relations".

Even Apple knows better (and they where closest to pooling the trick of actually making people want to change carrier for handset!).

Nokia need change on CEO, and in PR department and in Sale department. They have too many ex-MS people there who think that its still MS vs OEMs like relation.

This is absolutely not true. Verizon and T-Mobile have done many of the things you're complaining about to millions of people. I live in one of the biggest cities in the entire country and Verizon coverage is just as spotty as AT&T. I can also tell you first hand that T-Mobile has been horrible to my wife and every customer service rep I've dealt with on her behalf has been either astonishingly uneducated about their own products or just lied right to my face.

When people say things like what you're saying, what they really mean is that it sucks the worst for them personally, but they can't step outside of their own experience to see that maybe that isn't the general rule for everyone. If it really was a "well known fact" that AT&T was the worst in every possible way, do you really think they would have 100M customers?

To everyone complaining about carrier exclusives; there is a pretty simple reason behind this. The OEMs and Microsoft have correctly identified the tremendous power that the sales staff on the floor of an AT&T/Verizon/whatever store have. A huge amount of sales are driven by the front line staff. To access this resource, smart phone makers must sign a deal with the devil. They are fully aware that their pool of potential customers shrinks drastically when they offer exclusivity to any carrier (it's pretty ridiculous to suggest that they don't realize this fact).

I can also tell you first hand that T-Mobile has been horrible to my wife and every customer service rep I've dealt with on her behalf has been either astonishingly uneducated about their own products or just lied right to my face.

Vastarien wrote:

When people say things like what you're saying, what they really mean is that it sucks the worst for them personally, but they can't step outside of their own experience to see that maybe that isn't the general rule for everyone.

Your anecdotal evidence is relevant, but other peoples isn't? That your anecdotal evidence doesn't fall into the category of you think that T-Mobile is the worst for you personally and it couldn't be worse (or just as bad) elsewhere? Is that what you're saying? Because you had a bad experience with T-Mobile that AT&T can't be factually worse? Gee, I didn't realize that some people's experience counted for more than cold hard fact. If you are suggesting all of those things, then you are completely wrong. AT&T IS the worst carrier, and it's been known fact for a few years now due to them consistently being rated at or near the bottom in every customer satisfaction survey ever taken.

Vastarien wrote:

If it really was a "well known fact" that AT&T was the worst in every possible way, do you really think they would have 100M customers?

I don't know how old you are, and I sincerely mean nothing malicious by this, but you seem to not have been around adults, or people in general for very long. People will tolerate all manner of bullshit if it means they get to have one shiny piece of electronics for a cheaper up front cost. AT&T has got the number of customers it has because of the iPhone. Without having it exclusively for so many years they would probably be about half as big as they are now. It's not their exemplary level of service, not their exceedingly good customer service hotlines, or their spotless stores. It's the iPhone, and people will tolerate all manner of shit to have one. Simple as that.

...announcing something I can't buy, I don't know when I can buy it, and how much it is going to cost me doesn't make me interested as a customer.

Onerunjunior wrote:

I was ready to plunk down the cash the second it was announced.

Maybe it's just me, but you can't seem to make up your mind.

It's not you, it's my inability to explain it clearly. When they announced this phone, I was very excited and wanted one immediately. I expected a week or two to go by (because WP8 needing to be finalized) before they announced anything concrete. They waited for a month to tell everyone that only AT&T gets it. That's when I became thoroughly uninterested. I wanted this phone, but announcing it, waiting a month with absolutely no word, making exclusive to the worst carrier in the US, and then STILL not having pricing/availability information is simply a stupid way to do business. I'm no longer interested anymore.

This is bad new. I am moving from Sprint to Verizon so I can have real coverage. I would have bought 4 of these for everyone on my plan, 7 total if people didn't jump ship already from Sprints poor customer service. I will never consider going to AT&T. I guess it will be the ATIV S or the 8X for the lot of us. I will really miss the camera and City Lens. This transition for us to Windows Phones means 4 Anroids down. Don't get me wrong, still like Andoid but it still just does not have that stability that I have seen in Windows Phone apps and hoping Microsoft keeps the updates to all phones. I know the whole 7.8 and 8 thing but there does come a time to let a phone die.

So I guess that's why they've continuously placed last in customer satisfaction? Anecdotal evidence is nice and all, but the fact is that AT&T has been the laughing stock of the telecoms for quite a number of years now.

But you left out the important part....they're all within like 2% of each other. So does it really make a difference that 69% of AT&T customers are satisfied to Verizon's 70% and Sprint's 71%?